This thesis contributes to the scholarship on Swedish aid effectiveness by evaluating aspirations of Swedish cooperation in six different thematic areas stated in the new cooperation strategy with Afghanistan. Various approaches have been used to assess aid effectiveness in Afghanistan, but the conclusions have been ambiguous. Few studies have considered assessing Swedish aid effectiveness in an exceptionally arduous context of the aid landscape-Afghanistan. Consequently, this thesis conducts a case study to establish its conclusions. The study seeks to answer a major question: “To what extent has Swedish aid significantly contributed to the six thematic areas stated in the new development cooperation strategy with Afghanistan over the past two decades, from 2001 to 2021?” As a follow-up to the main research question, the study proposes a set of sub-questions: (a) what lessons can be drawn from Sweden’s cooperation with Afghanistan from 2001 until now and (b) what are some of the repercussions for Swedish cooperation with Afghanistan in the time to come? The research draws mainly on two concepts of “substantialist” and “relationist” that have been utilized to distinguish contrasting approaches in aid practice. To answer the research questions, qualitative methods are used by utilizing different techniques like desk-based research and interviews. Results from the qualitative analysis show that Swedish aid in Afghanistan has not been effective in any of the six thematic areas stated in Sweden’s new development cooperation strategy for Afghanistan, mainly because of the “substantialist” agenda of Swedish intervention and the need for a more “relational” agenda.